Jake

Burger

Burger is enjoying a good start at the dish. After going deep in Thursday’s opener, he went yard again Saturday with a two-run blast off Aaron Nola in the third inning. He later added a single in the eighth for his second hit of the game and fifth through two contests. Burger was limited to 103 games last season, but still managed 16 homers. There’s plenty of power here if he can stay off the injured list.

The Rangers were scoreless until Burger took Kyle Backhus deep in a 5-0 game in the ninth. Burger, though, had already had a pretty nice day by that point. It’s his first three-hit game since last Aug. 16. The 29-year-old needs to take a step forward against righties to be a useful regular for the Rangers, but as the likely everyday cleanup hitter for now, he should offer mixed-league value.

Burger is up to four homers this spring as looks to bounce back from a 2025 in which he missed time with injury and hit just .236/.269/.419. He’s probably never going to be a very good regular unless he can do something about the K/BB ratio, but the Rangers are committed to him and his 30-homer power could give him some value in mixed leagues.

The 29-year-old slugger clobbered a 388-foot (104.4 mph EV) three-run shot off of Cole Ragans in the top half of the first inning, increasing the Rangers’ early lead to 4-0. He also added an RBI single fourth inning that tied the score at 8-8. With his two-hit attack, Burger is hitting .333 (6-for-18) with a pair of homers and five RBI to start the spring.

Burger’s titanic blast to straightaway center field left his bat at 110.6 mph and traveled 434 feet, per Statcast. The 29-year-old first baseman dealt with oblique, quad and wrist issues that limited him to just 103 games during his Rangers debut last season. Avoiding prolonged absences make it relatively easy to envision a return to the 30-homer plateau for the first time since 2023.

The agreed upon amount comes in slightly under the $3.5 million that Burger was projected to earn by MLBTradeRumors.com. His first season with the Rangers didn’t go according to plan, as the 29-year-old slugger slashed a meager .236/.269/.419 with 16 round trippers and 53 RBI in 376 plate appearances. He’s still locked in as the team’s starter at first base though and should be a popular bounce-back candidate heading into 2026 fantasy drafts.

Bride reunites with new Rangers manager Skip Schumaker, who he previously played for in Miami during the 2024 campaign. The 29-year-old infielder got into 45 games last season between the Marlins and Twins, hitting .170 (19-for-112) with five RBI during that span. He represents a low-risk insurance policy at both corner infield spots after both Josh Jung and Jake Burger struggled to stay healthy this past season.

This was a lingering issue for Burger that stems from an injury he suffered in mid-August. The first baseman received a cortisone injection for the wrist injury, “which gave him some relief, but when the anti-inflammatory effects ebbed, he could once again feel the tendon popping in and out of place for the final weeks of the season.” Injuries piled up for Burger this season, as he went to the IL three times with oblique, quadriceps, and wrist injuries. Assuming he heads into spring training healthy, Burger could be a solid value in fantasy baseball drafts, given how injuries derailed his 2025 season

Even with the Rangers out of contention, they’d rather start Rowdy Tellez than Burger against right-hander, which, unless Burger is limited by injury and no one is saying, would seem to suggest that the 29-year-old doesn’t have much of a future in Texas. The Rangers parted with three prospects to acquire Burger from the Marlins last winter, but he’s hit just .237/.267/.422 in 367 plate appearances this season. On the other hand, he’s only eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, so he won’t be overly expensive ($4 million?) to keep.

Burger also walked. He’s 8-for-28 with four homers and a triple since coming off the injured list last week, and his OPS is up to .729, which is the highest he’s been after any game this season.